'Shameless' Recap: My Oldest Daughter

Frank’s newest way of getting alcohol into his system is by dropping it into his eye. Frank comes to the realization that his liver is finally failing. Carl, the loving son that he is, offers to go to the grocery store to get him one. Frank explains that he needs a transplant. But, first, he needs drugs. “No more alcohol, just drugs. Whatever you can get me.” Thus, Carl heads out to procure drugs for his father and find him a liver. Carl learns that one of the family members can donate a portion of his/her liver to Frank. After some garbage-digging detective work, Carl discovers that Fiona is a perfect match for Frank. He begs her to do it, but she refuses. She’s not going to let Frank ruin her liver, too. She’s decided to take care of herself. As Carl runs upstairs, Frank says not to worry because he’ll ask his oldest daughter, Samantha. What?!?! Another Gallagher!! Craziness.

At the reading of Stan’s will, Kev and Veronica find out that he left the bar to Kev. Unfortunately, the excitement is short lived when Kev realizes that the bar isn’t really making any money. In fact, it’s going to be more of a headache than they thought. While Carl is over at Kev and V’s to get drugs for Frank, V realizes she’s spotting. She quickly goes to the emergency room. No worries, she doesn’t lose the baby. Rather, they find out they’re having triplets. While Kev thinks this means his penis is magic, V is worried about raising a total of four kids.

Lip is still having trouble at school. He’s learning the hard way that he can’t just skate by. Studying 15 minutes before an exam is not going to cut it. Furthermore, the brash tactics he’s used to using with the female persuasion are not going to work. Inviting a girl to enjoy a fatty and “bang one out” just isn’t cutting it. He’s going to have to work a bit harder at everything if he wants to make this whole college thing work. Honestly, he seems a bit lonely. I’m loving that his roommate actually invites Lip to do things, even though his girlfriend clearly isn’t Lip’s biggest fan.

Fiona is navigating a new kind of relationship and the prospects of a career in sales. Her boss/boyfriend, Mike, is having her try her hand at sales. She’s pretty good at it. However, their relationship is a bit rocky at the moment. Mike’s a bit caught up on the fact that Fiona didn’t call him the night before, even though she said she would. She can’t seem to understand why he can’t let it go. Later, she lies about how the work car’s windshield was broken. Instead of telling him some guy smashed it in because she flipped him off, she lies and says a branch or kids must have done it while it was parked. He can’t understand why she would lie about that. She replies, “It’s what I do. I’m a Gallagher.” She starts to walk away mad, but instead she turns around and asks him where this leaves them. She promises to try not to lie. I’m not entirely sure if this is the right relationship for Fiona, but it’s surely different than what she’s used to. Although, I’m still wondering…where’s Steve/Jimmy?

Meanwhile, Debbie is growing up quite quickly. While she’s hanging out with her friends, her newly found boyfriend invites her over to his place. Her friends give her not so great advice: “If he’s a classy guy he’ll have a condom in his wallet,” and “If you don’t bleed, then you can’t breed.” They tell her not to tell the truth about her age, but Debbie is clearly nervous. When she arrives, she realizes he lives alone. She glances in his wallet to find a condom and realizes he’s 20 years old. She panics and blurts out that she’s 13. I’m quite proud of her for doing that. While I’m happy he didn’t yell at her, kick her out, and break her heart, I’m a bit concerned about his “Okay, cool” reaction. Debbie is a smart girl. Hopefully she can stay out of serious trouble.

The Gallaghers seem to be living their lives separately. They seem a bit out of sorts. They’re used to relying on one another. None of them seem particularly happy at the present moment. Also, why isn’t anyone more concerned about Ian’s whereabouts??